Authors

Paul Lienert

Ford Motor Co said it was creating a separate US$4bil unit to house its self-driving vehicle operations and is seeking outside investors, following a similar move in late May by Detroit rival General Motors Co with its Cruise Automation unit.

US President Donald Trump’s threat to block Chinese investment in US companies could be trouble for a number of American automotive and technology companies using Chinese funds to develop electric and self-driving cars and related services, from Tesla Inc to dozens of Silicon Valley startups.

Japan's SoftBank Group Corp will invest US$2.25bil in General Motors Co's autonomous vehicle unit Cruise, the companies said, a deal that validates the venerable Detroit automaker's leadership in self-driving cars and sent GM shares up nearly 13%.

Autonomous cars should be required to meet standards on their ability to detect potential hazards and better ways are needed to keep their human drivers ready to assume control, US auto safety and technology experts said after fatal crashes involving Uber Technologies Inc and Tesla Inc vehicles.

When Uber decided in 2016 to retire its fleet of self-driving Ford Fusion cars in favour of Volvo sport utility vehicles, it also chose to scale back on one notable piece of technology: the safety sensors used to detect objects in the road.

Ford Motor Co is taking a different approach from rival General Motors Co in deploying self-driving vehicles, focusing initially on partnering with and operating vehicles for a variety of companies, from Domino's Pizza to Lyft, executives said.

General Motors Co laid out its vision for self-driving vehicles on Thursday, telling investors it planned a commercial launch of fleets of fully autonomous robo-taxis in multiple dense urban environments in 2019.